In today’s moment in Black History, we will highlight James Baldwin, born on August 2, 1924, in Harlem, New York, and who passed on December 1, 1987, in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France.
Raised in poverty by his single mother and a strict stepfather who was a preacher, young James preached in a Pentecostal church from age 14 to 17 before stepping away to chase his own path with words. He left the U.S. in 1948 for Paris, fleeing daily racism and finding space to write honestly about race, identity, love, and America’s soul. His debut novel “Go Tell It on the Mountain” (1953) drew straight from his Harlem roots and church days. Then came bold essays like “The Fire Next Time” (1963), a searing call on race that shook the nation, and novels such as “Giovanni’s Room” (1956), which explored queer love with rare openness for the time.
Baldwin marched with civil rights leaders, spoke fearlessly on television, and returned often to confront injustice head-on, yet he lived much of his life abroad as a self-described commuter between worlds.
Fun fact: as a teen preacher, he honed a powerful, rhythmic voice that later made his essays and speeches feel like sermons—urgent, poetic, and impossible to ignore.
Remember…Education is freedom of mind and never should be colorblind.
James Baldwin & William F. Buckley, Jr. (1965 debate):
https://youtu.be/MRzkHgMaPL4?si=RXEM0UEyhp-LmqH1
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